Redwood History Basic Data

A. COLONEL McKEE'S TREATIES

1. First Contacts Between the Whites and Indians

Initially, the prospectors and those who followed them met little opposition from the Indians. The newcomers had trade goods which, although of slight monetary value, were prized by the redman. Moreover, the white man's firearms made resistance not only futile but disastrous. The Indians at the same time did not realize the full meaning of this invasion of their lands.

Josiah Gregg and his companions in 1849 therefore encountered no opposition, and at times they were even able to prevail on the Indians for assistance. [1] Other early exploring parties were received in similar fashion. It was not until the redman saw that the whites were squatting on their village sites that they began to think of war. On the coast this hostility had no serious repercussions, but in the interior it soon resulted in bloodshed. Two men were killed by Indians in the late summer of 1850 in the redwoods, 18 miles from Union. There was also a clash on the forks of the Salmon, where in reprisal the whites burned three villages and killed a number of Indians. [2] Several others were to die before the year ended.

The situation got worse in 1851. In the spring of that year, a party of prospectors led by Capt. S. R. Tompkins left Trinidad, taking the trail across to the Bald Hills, and worked their way up the Klamath River. [3] Halts were made at every bar showing any traces of gold. Guards had to be detailed to watch for Indians while the party was camped on Wingate's and Wood's bars, three of the group (Barney Ray, Moore, and ______Penney) pushed ahead. In doing so, they were undoubtedly influenced by several Indians, who had told the party that if they went "one-half a sleep" farther up the Klamath, they would find good camp grounds and diggings.

When they failed to return, several men from Wood's Bar went in search of them. As they ascended the river, they sighted a tent but could see or hear nothing of the occupants. A number of redmen were skulking about. Concluding that some misfortune must have overtaken their comrades, they returned to Wood's Bar. A volunteer force was turned out, and on returning to the tent, they found Penney and Ray. The former was terribly wounded and the latter dead. After burying Ray, they placed Penney on a litter and taken downstream to Wingate's Bar, where he died. Several weeks later, a badly decomposd body, presumed to be Moore's, was found floating in the Klamath. [4]

Vowing vengeance, a force was organized and started in pursuit of the Indians. The redmen's trail, leading up the river, was soon discovered. This brought the prospectors to the village. Biding their time, the miners sent back to their camps for reinforcements. Just as day was breaking and while most of the Indians were in their huts, the whites launched a vicious surprise attack, which routed the Indians. [5]

Several weeks later, the prospectors moved from Wingate's and Wood's bars and established a camp, which they called Happy Camp. This was the first permanent settlement on the middle reaches of the Klamath. [6] The settlers of Happy Camp were compelled to be on guard against the Indians, while getting ready to face the approaching winter.

This nasty incident and others caused many of the hard-bitten miners and packers to regard the Indians as enemies to be shot on sight. The Indians, unable to discriminate between whites who were their enemies and those who were their friends, took revenge. Whites were slain, and unfortunately for all concerned, it was seldom the ones who had committed the wrong. [7]

2. Colonel McKee Goes North

In an effort to put a stop to these murders and prevent a war Col. Redick McKee, a United States Indian Agent, was alerted to proceed to northwestern California and negotiate treaties with the tribes. Accompanied by a large escort, McKee left Sonoma on August 11, 1851. The expedition was accompanied by a company of soldiers led by Capt. H. W. Wessels. [8] Taking the Sonoma Trail, McKee's party reached the Humboldt Coast via the South Fork of the Eel River. As the column pushed ahead, stops were made to distribute beef and presents to the Indians and effect a peaceful settlement of outstanding differences. In the lower Eel River Valley, McKee saw that the redmen were living under submarginal conditions. A reservation for these Indians was established on the left bank of the Eel. C. A. Robeson, a settler and squawman, was placed in charge of the projected reservation, and with him were left three yoke of oxen and farm implements for cultivating the land. [9]

McKee, after visiting the bay settlements at Humboldt City and Union, crossed over the Bald Hills to the Klamath River. While en route, he passed through the country of the Chilula, knows locally as the Redwood or Bald Hills Indians. This tribe had an evil reputation among the packers, one of their camps being called "Bloody Camp," because two whites had been murdered there.

A grand council, attended by all the tribes of the area, was held in October at Durkee's Ferry, at the confluence of the Trinity and Klamath rivers. Gifts were distributed to the Indians and after McKee had told the redmen of the vast numbers of white men and their desire for peace, treaties were signed with representatives of the 24 assembled bands. Two tribes, the Chilula and Redwood Creek Indians, boycotted the council. [10]

McKee now traveled up the Klamath, distributing food and gifts at the villages and telling the Indians of his desire for peace. Simultaneously, the whites were asked to refrain from mistreating the Indians. As winter was approaching, Captain Wessels determined to return to Benicia with his detachment. Upon the departure of the military, McKee, accompanied by a small party, met with the Indians at Scott's Valley. Most of the redmen, either suspecting treachery or off hunting, avoided meeting with the agent. Finally, a treaty was effected, and McKee returned to San Francisco by way of Humboldt Bay. [11]

McKee was understandably pleased with the results of his expedition and declared:

Considering the results which have happily followed, the expenses are trifling. Taken as a whole, I doubt whether ever, in the history of Indian negotiations in this or any other country, as much work has been done, as much positive good effected, and as many evils averted with such comparatively inadequate means at command. [12]

Not everyone attached the same importance to Colonel McKee's service. When the California legislature convened in 1852, the Indian treaties were debated. A Committee on Indian Reservations was named by the assembly, which presented resolutions denouncing a policy of Indian agents in granting lands to the Indians as reservations. Only the personal appeal of two of the agents prevented the senate from endorsing this report in the form of a joint-resolution to Congress. [13] The opposition to the treaties was such that when they were submitted to the United States for ratification, they were rejected. [14]

Notwithstanding the controversy between the various officials and departments of the government following the negotiation of the treaties, the Indians seem to have accepted them in good faith, because, except for some thefts, there were no troubles instigated by the redmen for several years. There was at the same time considerable sentiment among the whites championing removal of the Indians from California. In April 1852 several north California senators notified Governor John Bigler that during the past "few months" 130 white people had been killed and $240,000 worth of property destroyed in their counties. Colonel McKee about the same time notified the Governor that the whites evinced an unjustifiable hostility toward the Indians, and urged that some action be taken to punish the offenders. In support of his position, he cited the murder of 15 to 20 Indians on Humboldt Bay in February, and a similar outrage in March, when nearly twice that number were killed on the Klamath. [15]

Pressure was brought to bear on Brig. Gen. Ethan Allen Hitchcock, the commander of the Department of the Pacific, by both sides. Each asked the aid of the military in settling the difficulties. Hitchcock accordingly determined to establish a millitary post on the Humboldt Coast. Two companies of the 4th United States Infantry, which had arrived in California in August, were designated to establish and garrison the post. In January 1853 Capt. Robert G. Buchanan and his two companies went ashore at Humboldt Bay and established a post destined to be called Fort Humboldt. [16]

B. BLOODSHED NEAR CRESCENT CITY

1. The First Killing

In the fall of 1854 there was trouble between the Indians and whites near Crescent City. About three miles north of Crescent City there lived a farmer, A. French. He and three other whites in late October went on a camping trip into the Bald Hills. On Thursday, French started for home while his companions remained behind to continue hunting. When the others returned to Crescent City on Saturday evening, they were met by an anxious Mrs. French, who inquired as to her spouse's whereabouts.

A hasty check revealed that his hunting companions were the last to have seen him, and suspicions were aroused that the Tolowa living on the South Fork of Smith River had murdered him. A vigilante committee was organized to apprehend and question all the Indians in and about the town. Scant information was secured from them. This served to reinforce the suspicions of those suspecting foul play, and a party was sent to search for the body. [17]

On Mill Creek there was a rancheria, where the Tolowa gathered in the autumn to harvest acorns for the winter. At this camp, a team of vigilantes led by J. M. Rosborough stopped and closely questioned the Indians. Rosborough was told that in the latter part of October, an Indian from Chetco had proposed to Black Mow, a Yurok, that they kill a white man. [18] Black Mow refused, stating that "he lived in peace with the whites, and had been for years in the habit of ferrying them across the Klamath." The Chetco then offered the Yurok a squaw, and Black Mow wavered and answered, "Soon."

Rosborough, having secured this information, had little difficulty in locating French's body. The vigilantes found it under a log and partially covered. Wild animals, however, had consumed much of the corpse. With the exception of the hat, none of the clothing was missing, and several of the men recognized French's gold ring. The remains was interred near the log, and the vigilantes rode back into Crescent City. There a warrant was sworn out for the arrest of three Indians—Black Mow, Jim, and Narpa—for the murder of French. [19]

Henry Kennedy, a lieutenant in the Company of Klamath Rangers, was deputized and given the mission of apprehending the guilty ones. Accompanied by a seven-man posse, Kennedy rode southward. [20] The Indians were captured at the mouth of the Klamath, and were escorted to Crescent City on November 17.

2. The Indians are Tried and Executed

On the 18th, the citizens of Crescent City assembled at the Eldorado Saloon on Front Street. E. Mason was called to the chair, while S. G. Whipple was named secretary. Chairman Mason announced that the object of the group was to try the three Indians, and if the evidence warranted a conviction, the jury was to determine the punishment. [21] After the evidence was presented, the jury retired to deliberate, and returned within the hour. The foreman announced the verdict, "Guilty!" The three Indians (Black Mow, Jim, and Narpa) were sentenced by Mason to be hanged on Monday, November 24, 1854, at 12 o'clock. On motion, J. R. Sloan, Richard Barnes, and Capt. John Boddeby were appointed a committee to see that the sentence was executed. [22]

At the time appointed, Black Mow, Jim, and Narpa were escorted from the jail to Battery Point, where a large number of citizens had assembled. One end of the ropes was tied to the limb of a tree, and the other ends fastened around the necks of the doomed. The wagon on which they were standing was driven from under them, and within "a few seconds the case was transferred to a Higher Tribunal, and the souls of three guilty Indian sent to account before the Great Spirit who watches over all." [23]

3. The Executions Beget War

Before 1854 ended, there were repercussions from the murder and executions. The residents of the Smith River Valley held a mass-meeting at Major Bradford's house to investigate threats voiced by Indians desiring revenge. A four-man committee was organized and visited the Tolowa rancheria at Yontocket. [24] Besides the usual residents, they found Rogue River, Chetco, and Yurok Indians. They also observed a number of little-used trails by which the Indians from the various rancherias communicated, and that provisions stockpiled for the winter had been removed. To the whites this looked suspicious, and steps were taken to keep the Indians under close surveillance.

About January 1, 1855, the difficulties between the whites and Indians ended in a fight on Lake Earl. Two companies of rangers (the Coast and Klamath), supported by the Smith River settlers, routed the Indians, killing 30. [25]

C. THE EXECUTIVE ORDER of 1855

1. The Red Cap War

War broke out in the same month on the Klamath. On the Klamath and Trinity there had been much ill-feeling in 1853 and 1854, but there was no open rupture. There was some loss of life, as a killing usually was followed by retaliation. The miners on the Klamath in January 1855 began to desert their claims and rally on the camps for protection, while the Indians removed their women and children to the mountains. On January 6 a mass-meeting was held at Orleans Bar, and it was determined to disarm the Indians and to take vigorous action against whites suspected or found guilty of selling arms to the redmen. Persons hereafter detected selling firearms to Indians were to have their heads shaved, receive 25 lashes, and be banished from the camps.

Many of the Indians complied with the call to hand over their firearms, but a few, led by the Red Caps, refused and prepared to resist. The whites struck first, burning several rancherias and committing outrages on squaws. The Indians struck back. A steer belonging to Stephen Smith was slaughtered, and on January 12 the Red Caps swept down on the diggings near Weitchpec and killed six whites and wounded two others. [26]

A call for help by the miners was forwarded to Captain Buchanan at Fort Humboldt. At Trinidad a volunteer company was organized and attacks made upon the Indians of the lower Klamath and Redwood Creek, who had heretofore lived in peace with the whites. Captain Buchanan ordered out a company of regulars under Capt. H. M. Judah. Reaching Weitchpec in the last week of January, Judah began negotiating with the redman. The local Yurok soon gave up and offered to assist the army in suppressing the Red Caps. The miners, however, refused to be a party to such an arrangement, but Judah held his ground and a settlement seemed at hand, when he was recalled by Captain Buchanan. [27]

Meanwhile, A. M. Rosborough, a special Indian agent for the County of Siskiyou, had reached Weitchpec. Even before Judah's recall, he sensed that affairs were at a critical stage, and could take an unfortunate turn at any moment. Most of the Yurok were still on their rancherias and wished peace, but, if the Red Caps who had fled to the mountains killed any packers, it would be impossible to prevent the miners from attacking those Indians who had chosen peace, and from driving them into the mountains. The volunteers had made one patrol into the mountains, but the Red Caps had successfully avoided them. [28]

Unless the Red Caps could be prevailed upon to come to terms with the United States Rosborough informed his superior, Thomas J. Henley, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California, it would be necessary to "surrender this whole mining country to the Indians, which would be unthinkable." Currently, there were between 500 and 600 miners employed on the Klamath and Salmon rivers diggings, who received their supplies by pack trains from Trinidad and Union. As all supplies for these diggings had to pass through Weitchpec, it would have to be held if the miners were to remain.

To hold Weitchpec, he recommended that a company of regulars be permanently posted in the Hoopa Valley. The company of soldiers, along with an Indian agent appointed to reside on the lower Klamath, would guarantee the peace. [29]

Superintendent Henley was understandably distressed to learn of the outbreak of hostilities on the Klamath. Relaying this information to Commissioner of Indian Affairs G. W. Montgomery, he reported, "business of every kind is suspended, and unless peace is quickly restored, a serious check will be given to the prosperity of that part of the State." So belligerent were the miners and packers that he and his agent were hard pressed to prevent a massacre of the Indians. In hopes of achieving an amicable settlement, he had named S. G. Whipple as special agent for Klamath County. Whipple had resided in the area since 1850, and he was well acquainted with the miners and packers and with "the Indians' character." [30]

The withdrawal of Captain Judah and his company had compounded Rosborough's problems. Even so, most of the Yurok remained on their rancherias, although a few more had slipped off to the mountains. Those still on the Klamath had requested protection, and the majority of the whites were anxious to grant this plea, but they lacked the manpower to guard the rancherias and at the same time pursue the hostiles and work the diggings.

Rosborough feared that it would be impossible for the law abiding whites to maintain their leadership in the camps much longer. If the Red Caps should kill any more miners or packers, it would be impossible to prevent the fire-eaters from shooting up the rancherias of the peaceably inclined Yurok. If this occurred, Rosborough cautioned Superintendent Henley, there would be a general stampede for the mountains and "such Mts. & evergreen canons are not to be found anywhere."

Up to the present, the vigilantes had been unable to pinpoint the 40 to 50 Red Caps who were at large. The Yurok, Rosborough warned, were not "such cowards as I had thought & I am satisfied that they refrain from an attack & killing the whites mainly on the grounds of saving the Indians remaining on the rancherias." [31]

Captain Judah, on returning to Fort Humboldt from the Klamath, had suggested to Captain Buchanan that they appeal to Brig. Gen. John E. Wool, the commander of the Department of the Pacific, to order a company of infantry to Weitchpec. To reinforce his plea, Judah pointed out that there was no law on the Klamath, not even a constable or justice of the peace. Buchanan was a typical bureaucrat, and unwilling to act on his own initiative, so he ordered Judah to Oregon, while awaiting instructions from General Wool.

When Rosborough learned that it would be some time before help was forthcoming from the army, he complained to Henley that all that was needed was a company of soldiers and a deputy marshal. He believed knowledge that there was an officer of the law on the Klamath, with authority to arrest offenders and send them to San Francisco for trial in a United States court, would curb the lawlessness. [32]

Already the peaceably inclined Yurok had offered to go into the mountains to locate the Red Caps, but they had been disarmed by the miners. If General Wool were unable to send a company of regulars to the Klamath, Rosborough wondered if Governor Bigler could not order out a battalion of militia. As urged by Rosborough, additional volunteer companies were organized to carry the war to the Red Caps. One of these units moved out with Indian guides to show the way. The Indians led the company into an ambush, but fortunately the whites escaped without loss. Drumhead court marshals condemned 26 of the treacherous Indians to death, while an equal number were captured and two villages burned.

As another appeal was being forwarded to Governor Bigler for additional troops, Whipple (having been named Special Indian Agent for Humboldt and Klamath Counties) arrived. He was accompanied by Captain Judah and his company of regulars.

Judah and his 30 regulars returned to the Klamath on March 22. The captain's orders were to assist Whipple "by all means in his power, and if the agent saw fit to select a site for an Indian Reservation, to examine it in reference to its suitability as a post."

Judah now found that most of the miners and packers were prepared to let him cope with the situation. There was considerable excitement, however, and the peacefully disposed Yurok were very frightened by two recent events. One of their leaders, Patora, had been murdered by a white, after he had surrendered his weapons and had induced others to do likewise. Judah, on making inquiries, found that the deceased "was universally respected for his honesty and friendly attitude toward the whites." [33] The other atrocity had been perpetrated by two companies of volunteers commanded by Capts. C. and F. M. Underwood. They had ridden out with their companies to a rancheria, where they called out the Yurok, shook hands with them, and after each had picked a victim, opened fire. The volunteers had then carried off the squaws "under the name of prisoners." Judah had lost no time in telling Captain F. M. Underwood that his service and that of his men could be dispensed with. [34]

Captain Judah, within the week, was satisfied that for the time being it would be impossible to locate the Red Caps in their mountain retreats. He would bide his time until the fears aroused by the cowardly deed perpetrated by the volunteers had been soothed.

Accompanied by an eight-man patrol, Judah on March 28 started down the Klamath in a canoe. The reaches of the river visited had never before been traveled by an officer of the United States army. He found the rancherias deserted, and no Yurok at Oregon where he had sent word for those desiring peace and protection to assemble. Two Indians, who had accompanied the patrol, were sent to the mouth of the Klamath. They returned on the evening of March 30 with 50 Yurok, all well-armed with knives, bows, and arrows. The leaders complained to Judah of the treatment they had received at the hands of the volunteers. Judah, although it was difficult, finally satisfied the Indians that his intentions were friendly. They promised to cooperate with him in punishing those Red Caps guilty of murder. [35]

On April 3 a grand council was held, attended by deputations from most of the tribes living in the area. Captain Judah inspired confidence among the redmen, and it was agreed that a war party would meet at Young's Ferry on the 6th. They would be provided with ten rifles and food, along with the names of eight Red Caps that were to be executed. All other hostiles encountered would be urged to turn themselves in, and they would be taken care of by the government, pending the establishment of a reservation. [36]

2. Whipple Proposes a Reservation

By mid-June several, of the Red Cap leaders were dead and most of their followers had availed themselves of the opportunity to surrender to Special Agent Whipple and the army. According to Whipple's informants only a score of Indians were still at large, and as their hands were stained with the blood of whites, they had no hope of escaping the gallows. As they were well-armed, they could be expected to form a hard core around which the disaffected, in event of future trouble, could rally. It might be good policy, Whipple reasoned, for the army to hunt them down. [37]

Meanwhile, Whipple had reconnoitered the Klamath from its mouth to Weitchpec. The countryside was rugged, with the river flowing "with a bold, though not rapid current, through deep gorges and rugged canons, which alternated with pleasant valleys and grassy flats." The Klamath was "abundantly supplied with Salmon, a fine large fish quite easily taken, and . . . which is very properly regarded by the Indian as his staff of life." Whipple asserted that the Klamath was the "best fishing grounds in North California, and thousands of Indians have stored away their annual supply of dried salmon upon these grounds for centuries." In addition, there were seals and sea lions, in large numbers, at the mouth of the river, while the rocks provided a rich harvest of mussels of which the Yurok were fond. As far up the River as Weitchpec, there were large banks of mussel shells, which demonstrated their popularity.

The flats bounding the river seemed well adapted to the practice of agriculture.

Whipple also noted that only one white was currently residing on the reaches of the Klamath between its mouth and Weitchpec. This individual claimed to have pre-empted 160 acres near the site of Klamath City. No pack trails paralleled these reaches of the Klamath, nor would it be feasible to open any, because of the rugged terrain. Intercourse between the villages was by canoe.

After completing his reconnaissance and evaluating what he had seen Whipple notified Superintendent Henley on June 19 that the lower 30 miles of the Klamath was a "most Eligible Site for an Indian Reservation." The proposed reservation should include within its bounds, "a strip of country five miles in width on each side of the river for the entire distance." Residing on the land in question were 1,200 to 1,600 Yurok, who "seemed attached to their land, regarding it as an honor to be known as residents of the Klamath." If the reservation were established, Whipple urged that all the 5,000 Indians living in Klamath County be segregated and settled thereon. [38]

Apparently, Whipple was difficult to get along with, Captain Judah complained that the Indian Agent was uncommunicative, and there was "no concert" of action between them. Hoping to gain the agent's cooperation, Captain Buchanan recalled Judah and replaced him with Capt. DeLancey Floyd-Jones. But when relations failed to improve, General Wool brought the matter to the attention of Superintendent Henley. When he did, he pointed out that the troops would remain on the Klamath until the approach of the autumn rains, when they would be recalled to Fort Humboldt. [39]

The army was not the only agency having difficulty with the strong-willed Whipple. Superintendent Henley was complaining to his superior that the agent had overstepped his instructions, for he had no authority to locate a reservation. His instructions had been to make an investigation "with reference to the fitness of the Klamath as a temporary place of rendezvous for the Indians," at the close of the Red Cap War. He was also to acquaint the redmen with the government's plan to locate them on reservations.

But in view of Whipple's promises, Henley felt it would be unwise for the United States to renege, because if the Indians were now removed from the Klamath, they would resume hostilities. Moreover, it was now incumbent on the Office of Indian Affairs to forward subsistence stores for the Yurok to the Klamath. [40]

Superintendent Henley in September visited the Klamath, and while there he was compelled to admit that he had underestimated Whipple's accomplishments. The area would indeed make an excellent home for the Indians. Scaling down the size of the reservation, Henley on October 4, 1855, recommended to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that a reservation be established on the Klamath, commencing at the coast, and enclosing a strip of territory, one mile in width, on each side of the river, for a distance of 20 miles. About 2,000 fertile acres, scattered in a number of small valleys, could be cultivated. Admiring the redwoods, Henley reported that "the supply of timber of the best quality was unlimited." The rugged terrain bounding the river should prevent encroachments by whites.

He had been assured by Whipple that the Indians, living convenient to the proposed reservation, could be removed to it at a trifling expense. As his superiors and Congress were interested in economy, Henley assured them that "the Reservation can be established & sustained, and the Indians subsisted upon it, at much less expense than at any other location with which I am acquainted in the State."

To keep the peace, which Whipple and Captain Judah had been instrumental in establishing, Henley urged that the special agent be continued in his position and that funds be budgeted for a farm to feed the Indians. [41]

3. President Pierce's Executive Order

The Congress had already provided statutory authority for the establishment of the reservation. The appropriation act of date of March 3, 1855, to fund the Office of Indian Affairs had sanctioned the creation of two additional California reservations, besides the three authorized by the law of July 31, 1854. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars were appropriated by the act of March 3, "for collecting, removing and subsisting the Indians of California," on the proposed new reserves—which reserves had not yet been selected. An additional appropriation of $125,000 was voted at the same time to cover the expenses of the three reserves provided for in the act of July 31, 1854.

Superintendent Henley on December 18, 1854, had called attention to the need for new reservations and had asked for their establishment. He had reiterated his proposal in a report dated April 30, 1855, and mentioned at the same time that it was "indispensable" that one of the two reserves should be in Klamath County. On June 22 Commissioner George W. Manypenny (who had replaced Montgomery) wrote Secretary of the Interior Robert McClelland recommending that the funds appropriated by the act of March 3, 1855, be employed for the establishment of two reserves—a recommendation which McClelland relayed to President Pierce on June 25. On August 8 McClelland wrote Manypenny, "The President has returned the papers with his approval of the recommendation of the Department, and they are, herewith, enclosed for the proper action of the Indian Office in the matter." This action was taken on August 15, when Acting Commissioner C. E. Mix wrote Henley, authorizing the latter to locate the new reservations in accordance with "the suggestions in your report of the 30th of April." The first of the new reserves to be located and established was that on the Klamath, while the other would be at Cape Mendocino.

Acting on Henley's recommendation of October 4, as to the boundaries of the Klamath Reservation, Commissioner Manypenny, on November 10 forwarded the correspondence to Secretary McClelland, and two days later the Secretary transmitted the papers to President Franklin Pierce. On November 16, 1855, President Pierce by Executive Order approved the Secretary's proposal that the Klamath River Reservation include "a strip of territory commencing at the Pacific Ocean and extending one mile in width on each side of the Klamath River, for a distance of 20 miles." If on survey the reservation were found to exceed the 25,000 acres provided by law, a sufficient quantity was to be cut off from the upper end to bring it within this limit. [42]

D. THE ESTABLISHMENT of the AGENCY at WAU-KELL

While on the Klamath, Superintendent Henley had told Agent Whipple to begin constructing buildings for the agency. One house was erected at Kepel and a second at Wau-Kell. Both these structures were weatherboarded. A survey was made of the coast from the Klamath to Crescent City for the purpose of cutting a trail. The trail was to be given high priority, because travel by sea, in small boats, would be hazardous during the approaching winter months. Until the farm and gardens were under cultivation, foodstuffs, as well as other supplies, would have to be brought down from Crescent City.

In view of the estimates that at least 5,000 Indians would be concentrated on the reservation, Whipple had urged Henley in September 1855 to have a company of soldiers permanently assigned to the Klamath. Past difficulties with hot-tempered Captain Buchanan had convinced Agent Whipple that these troops should not be subject to orders from Fort Humboldt. [44]

When Henley brought this subject to General Wool's attention, the veteran campaigner explained that he had issued orders recalling Captain Floyd-Jones and his detachment from the Klamath, because there were no quarters on the Reservation. This explanation shocked Henley, as it would leave Whipple and a few men surrounded by "thousands of Indians, who had recently been hostile." To add to a dangerous situation, the Rogue River War was raging in Oregon Territory, and at any moment it could spread down the coast and engulf the Klamath. An outbreak there could result in many deaths and the extermination of the Indians. [45]

Henley, in a successful effort to sway Wool, promised to permit Floyd-Jones and his regulars to occupy, at quarters, the log building erected by the Indian Bureau and Kepel. This building would be turned over to the War Department at cost, and Whipple's mechanics would construct, at a slight charge, any additional structures Wool deemed necessary. Wool thereupon agreed to permit Floyd-Jones' detachment of the 4th Infantry to winter at Kepel. [46]

Having won General Wool over, Henley saw that supplies were rushed to the Reservation. A shipment of Indian blankets and clothing was sent to Crescent City to be forwarded to the Reservation, while Whipple was directed to purchase flour from the mill ten miles above Kepel. The agent was also told to make preparations to have the Indians plant potatoes and gardens, the only crops to be raised on the Reservation in 1856. [47] Whipple accordingly purchased in Crescent City and had trans ported to Wau-Kell, for use by the Indians, agricultural implements, tools, seeds, and a supply of twine for fishing nets. H. B. Dickinson of Crescent City was hired "to instruct the Indians in the various activities and pursuits which their location on the reservation might necessitate." [48]

In 1856 Whipple resigned and was replaced as agent by James A. Patterson. Whereas Whipple had possessed ability and a capacity for hard work, Patterson spent considerable time away from the Reservation, where he frequented Crescent City saloons. In 1855, while the Rogue River War raged, the residents of Crescent City had deemed it expedient to concentrate the Tolowa on a reservation near the town. There the Tolowa were subsisted and guarded. When the war ended, Whipple had prevailed upon the Tolowa to move to Wilson Creek. To get them to agree to this move, he had promised that the government would subsist them, until land could be cultivated and food grown. He also promised to reimburse them for their fisheries and land (900 square miles). The payment was to be made in their currency—Ali-cachuck. With these they could purchase fisheries and farms from the Yurok.

Patterson, after replacing Whipple, had repudiated this agreement. Whereupon, the Tolowa left Wilson Creek and returned to their rancherias on Smith River and the coast north of Crescent City. There on October 19, 1856, they were taken in charge by Lt. Hezekiah Garder of the 4th Infantry. He concentrated them on Smith Island, where he saw that they were issued rations and clothing at the government's expense. [49]

Superintendent Henley was instructed to investigate Patterson's conduct. On doing so, Henley found that Patterson on January 12, 1857, had been so drunk, while at Crescent City, that he slept in his clothes in the bar of the Oriental Hotel; the next day he was so full of rotgut whiskey that he passed out in a stall in the McClellan & Co. Stable, "subject to the gaze of all who chose to look." The local charges regarding Patterson's character were substantiated by Lt. Charles H. Rundell (who had replaced Floyd-Jones as commander at Kepel), A. Snyder and Maj. H. P. Heintzelman of Weaverville, and Commissary John Irvine of Crescent City. [50]

After studying the documents bearing on the case, Commissioner of Indian Affairs James W. Denver on April 15, 1857, ordered Patterson removed. His replacement was to be V. E. Geiger. Geiger declined to accept the appointment, and Major Heintzelman was nominated as subagent and directed to take charge of the Klamath River Reservation. As he had spent the summer of 1856 on the Klamath, he was familiar with the Yurok and their problems. [51]

Superintendent Henley on May 19 directed Heintzelman to proceed from San Francisco to the Klamath, by way of Crescent City, and to relieve Patterson. He was to receive and take possession of all government property, papers, and money currently in Patterson's charge and sign receipts for same.

In conducting

the affairs of the Reservation . . . it was expected that rigid economy would be practiced, and that all persons connected with the service will be held to strict rules of industry and temperance. No intoxicating liquors will be permitted on the Reservation and all gambling will be prohibited. [52]

Heintzelman was told of the government's desire to make the Klamath River Reservation self-sustaining as soon as practicable. Until such time as the reservation gardens and farm could feed the Yurok, "the fish in the River, the shells on the coast, the grass seed, nuts, & berries of the Mts. must suffice for the subsistence of the Indians." [53]

To add to Agent Whipple's difficulties, the fall salmon run, on which the Yurok were dependent, had been poor. Most of the Indians had then gone into the mountains to gather acorns. [43]

Heintzelman, unlike his immediate predecessor, was industrious and God-fearing. On reaching the agency at Wau-Kell, he issued orders forbidding his employees from drinking or bringing onto the Reservation spiritous liquors in any form, and co-habiting by them with Indian women. The penalty for violation of these rules would be immediate discharge. [54] To improve the moral climate of the Reservation and to help educate the Indian children, Heintzelman asked that a missionary be assigned to his staff. Henley was agreeable, and a missionary was provided with quarters and rations at the expense of the government. [55]

ENDNOTES

1. Lewis K. Wood, The Discovery of Humboldt Bay, A Narrative (Eureka, 1872), p. 38. Wood shows that Gregg's party at the mouth of the South Fork of the Trinity encountered Indians, who appeared to have some hostile intentions. But the Indians were pacified, after taking note of the Americans' skill with their firearms. At Trinidad, the Indians were friendly.

2. Coy, The Humboldt Bay Region, p. 137; Alta California, Aug. 20, 22, 1850.

3. Bledsoe, History of Del Norte County, p. 7. Other members of the Tompkins party were: Robert L. Williams, Capt. McDermott, Charles Moore, Thomas J. Roach, Charles Wilson, Charles Southard, the Swain brothers, Taggart, George Wood, W. T. Stevens, Wm. Rumley, W. A. J. Moore, Jerry Lane, John Cox, S. S. Whipple, J. W. Bourke, James Buck, and several others.

4. Ibid., pp. 7-8.

5. Ibid., p. 9.

6. Ibid.

7. Coy, The Humboldt Bay Region, p. 138.

8. At its start the expedition consisted of 70 men, 140 mules and horses, and 160 head of cattle.

9. Department of the Interior, Report, March 17, 1953 (Serial 688), Doc. 4), pp. 134-155.

10. Ibid., pp. 158-162.

11. Ibid., pp. 166-169.

12. Ibid., p. 284.

13. Assembly Journal, 3d Sess. (1852), pp. 43, 45, 202-205, 396-397; Dept. of the Interior, Report, March 17, 1853 (Serial 688, Dec. 4), pp. 308, 310.

14. President, Annual Message, Dec. 6, 1852 (Series 673), pp. 10, 32.

15. Coy, The Humboldt Bay Region, pp. 141-142.

16. Alta California, March 21, 1852: Senate Journal, 3d Sess. (1852), p. 711; Elliott, Humboldt County, p. 163.

17. Bledsoe, History of Del Norte, p. 28.

18. Ibid., p. 29. Chetco was in Oregon Territory, 24 miles up the coast.

19. Ibid., pp. 29-30. Jim was Black Mow's son, while the Chetco's name was Narpa.

20. Included in the posse were: T. B. Thorp, Israel Deitrich, T. H. McGrew, J. R. Sloan, M. H Ritchie, J. B. Rosborough, and Leaks.

21. Ibid., pp. 29-30. The jury consisted of: D. W. McComb, J. B. Taylor, J. F. Wendell, T. B. Thorp, Richard Barnes, Jacob Lance, M. G. Tucker, T. S. Sanford, T. S. Pomeroy, John Miller, J. R. Sloan, and Benjamin West.

22. Ibid., pp. 30-31. In the 1850s the Klamath County judicial system provided but few sittings of the court; consequently, prisoners lodged in jail awaiting trial were likely to escape. The Crescent City jail was a frame structure, which afforded but scant security against escapes by the inmates. Rather than risk losing the opportunity to punish criminals, the citizens preferred to take the law into their own hands.

23. Ibid., p. 31.

24. Committee members were: Dr. Meyers., John Leverton, John Vaughn, and W. Carman.

25. Ibid., pp. 31-32.

26. Humboldt Times, Jan. 13, 20, 27, 1855; Anthony J. Bledsoe, Indian Wars of the Northwest (San Francisco, 1885), pp. 163-165; Rosborough to Henley, Feb. 4, 1855, National Archives, Record Group 75, Letters Received by Office of Indian Affairs, California Superintendency. Among the whites killed in the attack were: C. Dunham, _____Proctor, Thomas O'Neal, John Smith, and William Wheeler. The wounded were: William Lamb and James Johnson. Lamb failed to recover and died on February 3.

27. Wool to Thomas, Feb. 26, 1855, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt. Captain Buchanan reported that he had recalled Judah's company, because he could not supply it at this "season of the year." Lorenzo Thomas was acting Adjutant General of the Army at this time.

28. Rosborough to Henley, Feb. 4, 1855, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

29. Ibid.

30. Henley to Montgomery, Feb. 23, 1855, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

31. Rosborough to Henley, Feb. 22, 1855, NA, RG75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

32. Ibid.

33. Wool to Davis, April 11, 1855, NA, RG 75, 01A, Calif. Supt. Jefferson Davis was Secretary of War in President Franklin Pierce's administration.

34. Ibid. Judah was incensed when subsequently he learned that the Underwoods and their men had made claims on the government for their pay while in service.

35. Ibid.

36. Ibid.; Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior, 1886, pp. 302-303; Bledsoe, Indian Wars of the Northwest, pp. 166-176.

37. Whipple to Henley, June 19, 1855, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

38. Ibid. Klamath County was established in February 1850. At this time it included all of present day Del Norte and parts of Humboldt and Siskiyou counties.

39. Wool to Henley, Aug. 10, 1855, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

40. Henley to Montgomery, July 16, 1855, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., Calif. Supt.

41. Henley to Mix, Oct. 4, 1855, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt. C. E. Mix was Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

42. Alban W. Hoopes, Indian Affairs and Their Administration With Special Reference to the Far West, 1849-1860 (Philadelphia, 1932), pp. 51-61.

43. Whipple to Henley, Sept. 27, 1855, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

44. Ibid.

45. Henley to Wool, Oct. 16, and Henley to Manypenny, Oct. 20, 1855, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

46. Ibid.

47. Henley to Manypenny, Oct. 20, 1855, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

48. Bledsoe, History of Del Norte County, p. 35.

49. Alexander Hamilton to President Pierce, Sept. 27, 1856, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.; Heintzelman to Crook, Dec. 15, 1857, NA, RG 98, Ltrs. Recd., Dept. of the Pacific. In getting the Tolowa to remove to Wilson Creek, Whipple had been assisted by the military.

50. Memo. received by Commissioner of Indian Affairs, April 18, 1857, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

51. Henley to Denver, May 19, 1857, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt. Denver had been named Commissioner of Indian Affairs by President Buchanan in March 1857.

52. Henley to Heintzelman, May 19, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

53. Ibid.

54. Heintzelman to Henley, Aug. 3, 1857, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd., 01A, Calif. Supt.

55. Henley to Heintzelman, Aug. 10, 1857, NA, RG 75, Ltrs. Recd,, 01A, Calif. Supt.